Sweden struggles with huge leak

A huge leak of confidential information that potentially included details of Sweden’s military personnel and plans has been described as “extremely serious” by the country’s prime minister.

“What happened in the transport agency is a disaster. It is extremely serious. It has exposed both Sweden and Swedish citizens to risks,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told a July 24 press conference with the head of Sweden’s security services and the supreme commander of the armed forces.

As reported by The Financial Times, Lofven blamed a botched outsourcing agreement by the country’s transport agency for such a large breach of government secrets.

The scandal could threaten the jobs of several ministers in the centre-left coalition and the government itself. Opposition parties have said they could ask for a no-confidence motion to be debated in parliament.

In a separate report, the BBC noted there is no suggestion that IBM Sweden, the outsourced company with which the data was shared, was in the wrong – and the tech giant declined to comment.

Rick Falkvinge, head of privacy at Private Internet Access and a founder of the Pirate Party, wrote in a blog that he believed it demonstrated that governments were not reliable guardians of data.

“Let’s be clear: if a common mortal had leaked this data through this kind of negligence, the penalty would be life in prison,” he said.

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